Asphalt Mania: Construction Takes Off Big Time In Seattle For 2018!

As the city construction mania keeps apace, we take a look at what developments are brewing in Seattle for the New Year!

Seattle is expanding and that is something that no resident or visitor to the city can ignore!

And as the concrete jungle grows, so does the need for construction workers to join the army of asphalt out there!

This means there are now scores of vacancies for asphalt companies in Seattle. Not only for the creation of the buildings themselves, but also for all the pavements, roads and parking lots that the new buildings are creating.

If you are an asphalt paving contractor in Seattle, then things are looking up, as there is need for literally hundreds of miles of paving!

And it is downtown, where a lot of the action is happening.

At the moment, there are at least seventy four significant building and construction works going on.

These are all happening from Sodo to South Lake Union. This is the most projects that have ever been reported since the Downtown Seattle Association began keeping score in 2005!

This is the body that keeps a track of all the building and construction projects in Seattle, which they monitor on a twice yearly basis.

Last year, they had thought they had seen the biggest growth in construction projects in the city, when they clocked up sixty five new building projects that were being created. Then, another six months later this had gone up to sixty eight. Now the total stands at seventy four, and it could still grow.

As may be imagined, this now makes Seattle the place to head if you are a construction worker!

And as for 2018, is there any prospect for the drilling of sidewalks and general noise to abate? Well, we’re afraid not, with the continued regeneration predicted to keep on going for the new year.

Although at least fifty percent of the jobs already in progress were at least intended to be finalized by the end of 2017, there are at least another one hundred and fifty that are still to go!

This is sixty percent more being built in Seattle than there was during the last ‘boom’ in the city. At least fifty of these one hundred and fifty are likely to be starting soon.

So what are some of the projects that are being outlined in Seattle for 2017, 2018 and beyond?

Well, one such project is the waterfront.

Pier 62 will be rebuilt beginning this December and estimated to be finished in the end of 2019.

But apart from this, the vast majority of the projects that are under construction have been and continue to be residential ones.

The busiest place is South Lake Union. In fact, 33% of all the construction projects in the city are taking place there. The next most popular are Denny Triangle and First Hill, which both have between them just under a third of all the construction happening.

Nearly 66% of these projects are residential tower apartment blocks.

There are a few condos being built for sale, but these are the minority. Most of the properties will be for rental, as this is considered a safer bet for the developers than sales are.

So, this isn’t very different to the types of property being built in the past. However, it is needed, desperately in Seattle, where the appetite for quality rental properties continues to grow unabated.

The good news for the city is that this growth reflects the amount of jobs that are coming into it and also, rent rises have been below the average for the region.

And of course, it makes Seattle one of the top destinations for construction workers!